Sunday April 21, 2024 Julian Kwan

Theme: "Getting in the Way" - two letters are added to each common phrase. Those letters orderly spell out photobombing.

23. Ode to a much-loved Galaxy?: SOME PHONE LIKE YOU. Someone Like You.

40. Magical ottoman?: ENCHANTED FOOTREST. Enchanted forest.

58. Constantly thinking about escaping?: BREAKOUT OBSESSION. Breakout session.

80. Intention of one without morals?: DOOM THE RIGHT THING. Do the right thing.

98. Must-haves for a fashion doll?: BARBIE NECESSITIES. Bare necessities.

116. Converse with one more party guest?: GO THE EXTRA MINGLE. Go the extra mile.

Another Sunday debut. Congrats, Julian! Kwan is the Cantonese spelling of Mandarin Guan. Same character as the Quan (Vietnamese) in Ke Huy Quan, the director of "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

Hope the circles show up in your local paper. Otherwise, you might have missed the message in this puzzle.

Across:

1. Aural danger for Odysseus: SIREN.

6. Snit: HUFF.

10. Slow Churned ice cream brand: EDY'S. 27. Slush Puppie maker: ICEE.

14. High-and-mighty: SMUG.

18. Edge or Firefox alternative: OPERA. Never used Opera browser.

19. Camembert kin: BRIE.

20. Penn State's Nittany __: LIONS.

22. Fabled second-place finisher: HARE.

26. Actress Kurylenko: OLGA. She's a Bond Girl.

28. Camera type, for short: SLR.

29. Bygone news source: TOWN CRIER.

31. Pessimist's word: CAN'T.

33. Political cartoonist Thomas: NAST. The guy who designed the Republican elephant and Democratic donkey. I wonder why he did not pick up tiger or lion.

36. Had tea, to a Brit: ATE.

38. "Cat __ your tongue?": GOT.

39. Solo homer result: RBI.

47. Unsure sounds: UHS.

48. Restrain, as one's enthusiasm: BATE.

49. Poetic preposition: O'ER.

50. Experienced veteran: OLD TIMER.

51. Traditional fare of Japanese New Year: MOCHI. Sticky rice. Same thing in Chinese Tang Yuan.

Mochi Soup

Tang Yuan

53. Rockefeller Center's "American Progress" muralist: SERT.

55. Breeze (by): SAIL.

57. Division symbols: OBELI. Plural of obelus.

62. HIIT unit: REP. HIIT =  High-Intensity Interval Training .

63. "The Idol" star Lily-Rose: DEPP. Daughter of Johnny Depp.  She looks more like her mom.

64. Scrooge outburst: BAH.

65. Word after door or lock: STEP.

66. Computer clickers: MICE. I'm experiencing big Blogger glitch at this moment. Suddenly I can't save or access the blog Drafts folder. (One hour later: TTP came to the rescue. I can access the Drafts now,  but picture embed remains a problem. Sigh. Blogger!)

67. Treasure __: CHEST.

69. Give guidance: EDIFY.

71. Slanted: ATILT.

73. Co. founders, often: CEOS.

74. Level in a loyalty program: TIER.

77. Easter preceder?: NOR. Nor'easter.

78. Upper arm muscles, briefly: TRIS.

79. Football stat: ATT.

86. "The Cloister and the Hearth" author: READE. Charles Reade.

88. Learned: WISE.

89. Handle with __: CARE.

90. "Ciao!": LATER.

91. Avenue next to Reading Railroad: ORIENTAL.

93. __ date: DUE.

95. Tennis great with a namesake stadium: ASHE.

97. Kid's cry: MAA.

101. Raiding org.: ATF. And 102. Screening org.: TSA.

103. Equals: ARE.

104. Robe securer: SASH.

105. Unit of speed that's approximately 1.15 mph: KNOT.

106. Latte server: COFFEE BAR.

111. Gingerbread __: MAN.

113. Thought: IDEA.

115. One side of a sports bet: OVER.

122. Rose bowl?: VASE. Sweet clue.

123. SEC athlete in orange and blue: GATOR. Florida Gators. 

124. Garish: LOUD.

125. How to play without knowing the score?: BY EAR.

126. "Above all __ ... ": ELSE.

127. Uses a touchscreen: TAPS.

128. Squeezed (by): EKED.

129. Barracks VIP: SARGE.

Down:

1. "Mamma Mia!" duet for Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep: SOS.

2. Stock market debut letters: IPO.

3. Talk about the good old days: REMINISCE. Carmen came here a few weeks ago and bought some delicious snacks. I used to live here. Very old part of Guangzhou.

4. Assemble, as a Lego tower: ERECT.

5. Necklace clasp spot: NAPE.

6. "The Last of Us" network: HBO.

7. Catering dispenser: URN.

8. Cinco de Mayo celebration: FIESTA.

9. Chop down: FELL.

10. State animal of Utah: ELK.

11. Tried a nutrition program: DIETED.

12. Spinning toy on a string: YO-YO.

13. Frosty's makeup: SNOW. Snow on our yard when I woke up this morning, but all gone now.

14. Slow-cooked beef piece: SHORT RIB.

15. Bamako's country: MALI.

16. Push (to): URGE.

17. Climber's backpack filler: GEAR.

21. Apollo or Ra: SUN GOD. RA is the Egyptian sun god.

24. Temporary tattoo medium: HENNA.

25. Raging: IRATE.

30. Second wedding anniversary material: COTTON.

31. Cookie leftover: CRUMB. Carmen bought these. Almond cookies on the upper left.

32. Loathe: ABHOR. Sad to get a text from my sweet neighbor Valerie that she's planning to move to Fridley. This scared both of us. This is where we live.

34. Seeks attention, maybe: ACTS UP.

35. Linen closet item: SHEET.

37. Straight to the point: TERSE.

40. Urban transport options: E-BIKES.

41. "Could be better": NOT BAD.

42. Inflict (upon): FOIST.

43. Skateboard stunt: OLLIE.

44. Chef Lagasse: EMERIL. "Kick it up a notch!"

45. Highlight, as text: SELECT.

46. Absolute rubbish: TRIPE.

52. Underworld king: HADES.

54. Julia of "Leave the World Behind": ROBERTS.

56. Mesopotamian civilization: ASSYRIA.

59. Go for: OPT TO.

60. Stand out: SHINE.

61. Moving image?: OP-ART.

66. Baryshnikov nickname: MISHA.

67. Latin for "the rest": CETERA. Et.

68. Balloon filler: HOT AIR.

70. Push and pull, in physics: FORCES.

72. Mr. and Mrs.: TITLES.

73. Ingredient in some vegan brownies: CAROB. I've never had brownies.

75. Hawkeye: IOWAN.

76. Novelist Zola: EMILE.

78. Ph.D. requirement: THESIS.

80. Fitness instructor Austin: DENISE.

81. Jon of "Napoleon Dynamite": HEDER.

82. Persona non __: GRATA.

83. Head of servers?: IT MANAGER. IT service. 

84. "Crackerjack!": NEATO.

85. Obtain illegally: GRAFT.

87. Ideal way to graduate: DEBT-FREE.

92. Asian snack steeped in spices: TEA EGG. Five-spice powder. Lesley loved these. 

94. "I'm here to help": USE ME.

96. Pronoun duo: HE/HIM.

99. Sonic waiter: CARHOP.

100. Could be better: ISN'T OK. Do dislike this new Blogger format. 

105. Tanzania neighbor: KENYA.

106. Sheltered inlet: COVE.

107. Shape of a powerful office: OVAL.

108. Admit, with "up": FESS.

109. Full house, in poker slang: BOAT.

110. Flour for some flatbread: ATTA.

112. Toll unit: AXLE.

114. "That one's mine!": DIBS.

117. Triage ctrs.: ERS.

118. Québec street: RUE.

119. Contribute (to): ADD.

120. Streaming annoyance: LAG.

121. Before, once: ERE.

C.C.

Sunday, April 14, 2024 ~ Tom Pepper & Zhouqin Burnikel

"Rock 'n' Roll"

Good morning! Today we are treated to a puzzle by two veteran constructors - one of which started our little haven on the internet.  Let's crank-up the tunes and see what Tom & C.C. really mean by the puzzle's title.

22. Place for a rock: SOLITAIRE RING. ROCKs and ice are slang for diamonds.

Solitaire Diamond

27. Place for a roll: CRAPS TABLE. ROLL the dice on craps.

Craps Table

34. Place for a rock: CURLING MATCH. Curling is a Winter Olympics sport where you push a stone, aka the ROCK (don't confuse that with Dwayne Johnson), to the goal.

Maybe someone can explain what he's doing

58. Place for a roll: SUSHI PLATTER.

Yummers!

84. Place for a rock: ROSHAMBO GAME. Aka ROCK, paper, scissors.

105. Place for a roll: BOWLING ALLEY. I doubt there's anything coincidental about this Shout-Out to Boomer. In bowling you ROLL a ball towards the pins.

112. Place for a Rock: COMEDY CLUB. Chris ROCK is a standup comedian. He's also had starring ROLes in Movies.

Chris Rock

123. Place for a roll: TAPE DISPENSER. A ROLL of Tape.

Across:
1. Bugs: NAGS AT.

Let's keep with the Theme

7. Flat-topped hills: MESAS.

12. Faux wood in a fireplace: GAS LOG.

18. Pass by: ELAPSE.

19. Harding biopic: I TONYA.

21. Chihuahua coin: CENTAVO. 1/100th of a currency.

One Centavo

22. [See: Theme]

24. 1984 Jeff Bridges film that begins with a UFO crash: STARMAN.

   
                                          David Bowie's 1972 Starman

25. Shorthand system: STENO.

26. Just: MERE.

27. [See: Theme]

29. Geometry calculation: AREA.

31. U.S. intel org.: NSA. National Security Agency.

33. "Trainwreck" director Judd: APATOW.

Judd Apatow IMDb

34. [See: Theme]

39. Carbon compound: ENOL.

40. Short evening wear?: PJS.  Pajamas.

43. Driver's assignment: Abbr.: RTE. Route.

44. Microsoft Office default typeface until 2007: ARIAL.
 

Arial Font

45. Ore-Ida side, familiarly: TOTS.

Napoleon Dynamite

47. Tech company with an exclamation point: YAHOO.

Yep, it's got an exclamation mark.

49. Envelope abbr.: ATTN. Attention.

51. Burden: ONUS.

52. Take a break: PAUSE.

55. Hulu alternative: ROKU.

56. Left high and dry: MAROONED.

58. [See: Theme]

61. __ as punch: PROUD. I'm aware of pleased as punch but not proud as punch.  I've heard of PROUD as a peacock and love PROUD Mary (I know this is CCR's song but...

Tina's version really ROCKS!)

62. Bring home: EARN.

64. Shopping cart count: ITEMS.

65. Choice words?: ORS.

66. Fit together, as some dolls: NEST.

Matryoshka HUMOR

69. Brobdingnagian: GIANT.

71. Barbecue fuel: COAL.

73. Kung __ chicken: PAO.

Recipe

76. Booze: SAUCE. Slang for alcohol.

78. Bit attachment: REIN.

80. Dave Barry genre: HUMOR.

From 2010

84. [See: Theme]

87. Natural ability: APTITUDE.

90. Mammal with more gray matter than a human: ORCA. I'm assuming brain cells and not gray hair.

91. Caesar __: SALAD.

92. Nabe in lower Manhattan: SOHO. South of HOuston [St.] is a neighborhood. There's also a Soho [South of Horton] in London which I learned from The Who.
 

Lyrics
I woke up in a SOHO doorway / A policeman knew my name
He said, "You can go sleep at home tonight / If you can get up and walk away"

93. Miami Heat coach Spoelstra: ERIK.

Eric Spoelstra

94. Buy time: STALL.

Panic! At the Disco - STALL Me.

96. Australia's national gemstone: OPAL.

98. In the midst of: AMONG.

100. Pub pintful: ALE.

101. Orecchiette shape: EAR.

102. Asgard god: ODIN.

105. [See: Theme]

108. Actress Jennifer in Capital One commercials: GARNER.

Jennifer Garner

110. Letters after nus: XIS. Greek to me.

111. "Othello" villain: IAGO.

112. [See: Theme]

116. Matching: SAME.

118. Put in more chips, say: RAISE.

122. Stretch with no landmarks: OPEN SEA.

123. [See: Theme]

126. Firsthand accounts: MEMOIRS. Here's one I recently read.

Number One is Walking

127. Fast and furious: HECTIC.

128. Sharp kitchen tool: PEELER.

129. Tons: OCEANS.

130. Knobs on a pipe organ: STOPS.

131. Respected ones: ELDERS. Pop taught us to respect our elders. Now I am (usually) one.

Down:
1. Loch in hoax photos: NESS.

2. Tons: ALOT.

3. Strong wind: GALE.

4. Word with column or cord: SPINAL.
 

Given the theme, this fill just screams for the Trailer.

5. Oregon's oldest city: ASTORIA.

6. Cha, chai, or matcha: TEA.

7. Bog down: MIRE.

8. 2021 Marvel movie directed by Chlo Zhao: ETERNALS.

9. Most tender: SOREST.

10. "32 Flavors" singer DiFranco: ANI.

From NPR's Tiny Desk Concert

11. Bring into alignment: SYNC.

12. Arrives at: GETSTO.

13. Chess legend Karpov: ANATOLY.

World Chess HoF Inductee

14. Milkshake insert: STRAW.

15. Meat common in Greek cuisine: LAMB.

16. Shape of sesame seeds: OVAL.

17. No longer there: GONE.

20. Indian city with a mausoleum: AGRA.

21. House channel: CSPAN.

23. "Just think ... ": IMAGINE.

John Lennon

28. Hairy Halloween costume: APE SUIT. I kept wanting to fill Itt.

Wednesday and Itt

30. Disgraced energy company: ENRON. I know many folks that lost their job in the tower next to One Allen. Chevron owns ENRON's old building now.

The "Crooked E" should have been a clue.

32. Make a scene?: ACT.

34. Swimmer's woe: CRAMP.

35. __ Pradesh: Indian state: UTTAR.

There it is!

36. Fashionably dated: RETRO.

Groovy, eh?

37. "All in the Family" spinoff: MAUDE. Spin-off in the '70's starring Bea Arthur.

10:32 of fun.

38. Short trips: HOPS.

40. Part of a magazine spread: PHOTO.
 

Def Leppard - PHOTOgraph

41. Class clown: JOKER.

42. Some whiskey drinks: SOURS.

46. Largest island in French Polynesia: TAHITI.

There it is!

48. Wall flowers, perhaps: ART.

50. Wall or flower: NOUN. Cute.

53. Architect's detail, briefly: SPEC. Specification on a blueprint.

54. Muppet who never says "I": ELMO. He always refers to himself by Elmo.

57. Port city south of Kyiv: ODESA. Two 'S' ODESSA is an oil-town in West Texas.

58. __ Lankan rupee: SRI.

59. Take heat from?: UNARM. Cute.
 

Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm

60. Japan's largest beermaker: ASAHI.

63. Factor in sibling rivalry, often: AGE GAP.

67. Costco rival, familiarly: SAMS.

68. Bulky brass instrument: TUBA.
 

Bohemian Rhapsody on Euphonium, TUBA, Piano & Drums

70. Bridal bio word: NEE.

72. Instrument for a troubadour: LUTE.

73. Counterpart of poetry: PROSE.

74. Place for a stent: AORTA.

75. Prized statuette: OSCAR.

77. Sanders, for one: COLONEL.

79. "No Logo" author Klein: NAOMI.  A Canadian author. I didn't know of this book but I know of her The Shock Doctrine.

Naomi Klein

81. Big picture?: MURAL.

82. Black swan of ballet: ODILE. Odile is the black swan maiden and the secondary antagonist in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.

83. Type in again: REKEY. Reenter the data.

85. Rogue computer of sci-fi: HAL. It did tell Dave it was sorry.

2001 A Space Odyssey's HAL.

86. Small amount: A DAB.

88. Hypocritical sorts: PHONIES.

89. Polynesian kingdom with more than 170 islands: TONGA.

There it is!

92. Tortilla chip topper: SALSA DIP.

95. Adds, as paper to a copier: LOADS IN. 500 sheets (a ream) at a time.

97. Fish in some omelets: LOX.

99. Series of bad takes: GAG REEL. The bloopers.

103. Appliances with drums: DRYERS.

Anatomy of a Dryer

104. Ancient Cuzco dwellers: INCAS.

106. Not tricked by: WISE TO.

107. Gave for a short time: LOANED.

108. Italian city known for salami: GENOA.

109. Oldest of the Pointer Sisters: RUTH.

The Pointer Sisters - I'm So Excited

112. Lombardy lake: COMO.

113. Cartel founded in Baghdad: OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

114. Widely shared post: MEME.

A Maude Callback

115. Sweeties: BAES. #TeenSpeak

117. Karaoke gear: MICS. The first Karaoke machine was the Sparko Box invented by Shigeichi Negishi in 1967. Negishi passed last January at the age of 100. Here's CNN's report.

119. Castaway's home: ISLE. You could be MARRONed there.

120. One who's forward-looking: SEER.

121. Makes a misstep: ERRS.

124. Interest rate fig.: PCT. The percentage rate for your LOAN.

125. Safety gear for ER workers: PPE. Personal Protective Equipment.

Covid PPE

The Grid:

The Grid

WOs: Gust->GALE, here->GONE, apr->PCT
ESPs: COMO, ROSHAMBO, GARNER, ERIK
Fav: UNARM as clued.

I hope y'all found at least one song to ROCK out to.  And, if not, at least enjoyed the rest of the expo.

Cheers, -T